Shoulder strap



June 17, 1930.

J. R. DAVIS SHOULDER STRAP Filed July 16, 1928 INVENTOR.

A TTORNEY- Patented June 17, 1930 .JosEPH REX DAVIS, F oLAaKsBuRe, wEsr VIRGINIA SHOULDER STRAP Application filed July 16,

The present invention relates to a shoulder strap and its adjuncts whereby womens wearing apparel, such as camisoles, slips, etc., generally known as lingerie may be suspend- 5 ed in a comfortable and attractive manner.

In such garments as now constituted, each is provided with a pair of shoulder straps of ribbon or similar delicate materialypermanently secured at their respective ends to the front and back of the upper edge of the garment. These straps are not adjustable as to length, are usually of different color on different garments, and consequently present an unsightly appearance due to these causes.

Furthermore, by reason of the different lengths of straps on different garments some are looser on the shoulders than others and as aconsequence they often slip off the shoulders and down onto the-arms of the wearer, thereby not only failing to function as a supporting means but also causing annoyance to the wearer. r

Such straps also, because of being more exposed than other parts 'of the garment and in contact with the body of the user are liable to, become wrinkled and soiled 'muc'h m ore quickly than the undergarment which they support, thus'rendering the garment unfit for wear. And again, th'esestraps are usually of delicate and perishable material which is soon discolored and ruined-by laundering, thereby requiring that the entire garment be discarded, or that the original straps be removed and new straps substituted.

Detachable and adjustable shoulder straps for undergarments have been heretofore provided, but such prior devices have proved objectionable for two reasons: first, because the fastening means for attaching the strap to the 40 garment mutilated either the one or the other and thus rendered the garment unfit for wear and second, because the various means proposed for attaching the straps to the garment were unattractive in appearance and therefore not suited to the fastidious taste of the users. The present invention has as its primary object to provide adjustable and detachable shoulder straps capable of attachment to sev' eral garments so as to dispense with the use 1928. Serial No. 293,134.

of more than one pair of straps, and yet which is neat and attractive in apearance and in which the fastening means has notendency to multilate either the garment or the ribbons which form the body of the straps.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing; in which.

Figure l is a perspective view of the device attached to a garment in use.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional View through one end of a strap and the attaching means therefor.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail perspective view showing the manner of attaching a pluralityof garments to a strap; and v Figure l is a front elevation of the garment securing member and a modified construction of garment.

Referring to the drawing in more detail the numeral 1 designates the strap portion of the novelshoulder straps and is composed'of silk or other material having a sufficiently attractive appearance to be worn in an 'eX- posed position. 'Numerals 2, 3 and 4 desigrate the several garments such as camisoles, slips, etc., which are tobe supported by the straps. I,

As will be readily understood, it is of paramount importance that supporting straps intended for the present purposes must be not only practical in operation but also must have inherent therein to a high degree attractive ness, daintiness and be entirely free from bulkiness'o r crudeness. To serve these ends I have provided garment attaching plates 5 which are provided with upper and lower slots 6 and 7. The ribbon or strap portion 1 carries one of these plates at its respective ends and they are detachably and adjustably secured to the ribbon as will be described later. Mounted on one face of each of the plates are two buttons 8 which have shanks suffiolently long to receive the loops 9 of several undergarments. These loopsmay be secured directly to the upper edge of the garment at the front and rear thereof or may be mounted on tabs which are themselves attached to" the upper edges of the garment. In either event will partly overlap the upper edge of the garment as clearly illustrated in Figure 1.

In order that the ends of the ribbons or straps 1 may be adjustably and detachably secured to the plates and at the same time present an attractive appearance, I pass the end of each ribbon through the upper slot 6 from that side of the plate bearing the buttons 8. The ribbon then passes down over what may be termed the front side of the plate, around the lower edge thereof and thence through the lower slot 7 to the front side of the plate as indicated in Figure 2.. The extreme end of the ribbon is indicated by the numeral 10 and it will be noted that this portion is located between the front of plat-e5 and the body portion 11 of the ribbon which extends between the slots 6 and 7; After the ribbon is roved through the slots in the manner described and pull applied to the main body of the ribbon the parts 10 and 11willassu1ne the position indicated in Figure 3 in which the part 11 of the ribbon firmly presses the end 10 thereof against the front side of the plate, thereby frictionally gripping the ribbon against withdrawal from the slots. Obviously the effective length of the straps may be varied by varying the length of ribbon drawnupwardly through slots 7. Furthermore, the, plates may be entirely removed from the ribbon when desired by merely pressing a portion of the body of the ribbon through slot 6 so as to relieve the pressure on the end 10 of the ribbon and then Withdrawthis portion of the ribbon from slot7.

The form of the invention shown in Figure l. is identical with that just described except for he fact that I provide button holes 15 in the upper edge of the garment 16 in lieu of the loops 9 depicted in Figure 3. It is to be understood, of course, that the holes 15 will preferably be placed in a reinforcement of the garment rather than in the material of the garment itself due to the usually frail nature of such material.

In the operation of the novel shoulder straps, one pair of such straps will function to support aplurality of garments as indi cated in Figure 3, thus eliminating the unsight-liness and inconvenience of a separate pair of straps for each garment.

When it is desiredto remove the garments they may be disconnected from the strapsor be removed as a unit therewith. more, the positions of the upper edges of the garments may be varied at will by merely loosening the portion 11 of the ribbon from the plate 5 and moving the end 10 in the de- Furtherlength be provided and the same garment attaching plates connected thereto.

From the foregoing description and theattachcd drawing it will be apparent that I have devised an extremely neat and attractive garment supporter which avoids the obiections to theconventional types of shoulder straps as now used; that it is adjustable and detachable to meet requirements, and yet is sufficiently delicate in construction as to meet the fastidious taste of the wearer.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim is: V

1. 'l'he combination with a garmenthaving apertures at its upper edge, of a pair of shoulder straps detachably connected to said gar ment by means of said apertures, each of said shoulder straps including garment attaching plates adjnstably secured to the ends of said straps, buttons on said plates for engagement with said apertures, said buttons extending inwardly through said apertures toward the body of the wearer.

2. The combination with a garment having apertures, at its upper edge, of a pair of shoulder straps detachably connected to said garment by means of said apertures, each of said shoulder straps including a garment attaching plate provided. with slots in which one end of the strap is roved, and buttons on the inner faceof said plate for insertion in said apertures.

8; The combination with a garment having apertures in its upper edge, of a pair of detachable shoulder straps including a strap portion and a garment attaching platepro vided with upper and lower slots, garment attaching means on that side of the plate to-.

wards the wearer, said strap being roved through said slots so that its end is concealed and clasped against said plate by a body portion of the strap.

Josnrii REX DAVIS. 

